Following at a Distance

        Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter followed at a distance.  After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them.  And a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, "This man was with Him too."
       But he denied it saying, "Woman, I do not know Him."
       A little later, another saw him and said, "You are one of them too!
       But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"
       After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, "Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too."
       But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about."  Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.

       Usually when we look at this passage, we draw attention to the denial that Peter exclaimed.  Why would an apostle of Jesus Christ blatantly and explicitly deny knowing the Lord; especially a man as bold in tongue as Peter often was?

       What we don't often look at is the reasons behind his denial - Peter was only willing to follow Jesus at a distance."

        Allow me to speculate for a minute:  Peter thought he was doing good.  Peter told Jesus he would die for Him.  Peter rebuked Jesus for prophesying His death, because Peter believed in Jesus power to rise above the enemy.  Peter was likely confused when Jesus told him of his own imminent denial.  Peter was the only one of the disciples that didn't scatter when the enemy came.  He alone followed Jesus to His trial - but he followed at a distance.

        Peter wasn't bold enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Lord.  But he figured his gesture of being in the vicinity was good enough.  Peter could see Jesus.  Peter was keeping an eye on his Lord.  But Peter would not draw near in this time of trouble.

Look at what Peter did do:
 
1) Peter followed at a distance - He would not draw near to Jesus, but stayed within a "comfortable distance", straddling the line between Jesus and his captors.

2) They kindled a fire...and Peter sat among them - If he wasn't going to stand shoulder to shoulder with his King, where else would he go?  The only other option was to sit with the enemy.  Peter got cozy with those who also denied Jesus.  Sure, he was there for good intentions.  He wanted to stay close (enough) to God. But he refused to distinguish himself from the enemies of God.

3) He said, "I do not know the Man." - His comfort around the enemies' fire grew to complacency away from the Lord.  His survival instinct set in.  He was no longer talking a big game with the other disciples.  He made camp with the enemy.  And he finally tried to identify as one of them.  It was going to be way too much of a hassle to explain his relationship to Jesus and why he was there, at the enemy camp.  So, if you can't beat them, join them. 

         Peter's crucial error was not his denial - yes that was the ultimate culmination of his mistakes, but he started down a path of denial when he only followed at a distance out of fear and halfhearted zeal.  But what does that mean for me and you?

        Work, school, friends, etc.  No matter where we are or what we are doing, we will find ourselves eventually surrounded by people who deny our Lord.  The question we have to ask is, "Will we stand shoulder to shoulder with Jesus, or will we sit by the fire with Peter, following at a distance?"

1)  It's easy to go to church on Sundays.  It's easy to pray with the family.  But if that's all we do - we are just keeping our eye but not preparing to stand with Him till the end.

2) When we leave the church and go to be with our friends of the world, if we are not actively stand with Jesus then we will likely be hanging out/working with our friends and colleagues of the world and trying to fit in with them and hoping no one recognizes you from church or asks about your faith.  It's a lot more comfortable to sit around the fire and not deal with the reality that you will be on trial with your Lord if you speak up.

3) When we are comfortable and fearful, it's easy to just give in.  While we are at the fire it's just simpler and safer to say, "No, I don't really do church," or "My parent's go, but that's not really for me."  Suddenly we are explicitly denying our relationship with Christ.  And if we do that long enough, odds are we will start believing the lies ourselves.

If we are going to continue following Jesus, we cannot afford to follow at a distance.  We must stand with Him, shoulder to shoulder, or we are bound to not follow him at all.
 
       

Expectations

       I was on the phone with one of my good friends last night, PJ, and we were talking about life and catching up.  Some people would look down on PJ because of the decisions he has made of the last three years.  PJ is 22 years old, he got engaged his freshman year of college, got married after his sophomore year, stopped going to school full time after he got married, a year and a half into his marriage he and his wife now have a beautiful baby girl, he still doesn't have a college degree, and is supporting his family by selling devices and plans at the local wireless network store.  Underwhelmed with PJ's life yet?

       Here's the kicker - PJ is making more money than most people do right out of college.  He is more than supporting the needs of his small family.  And he is taking on a leadership role in their small, struggling church.  In fact, I'm a little envious of PJ's success!

        Why is it that when we see someone working retail, without a college degree, and raising a family at the age of 22, we immediately question their responsibility and life choices?  Many of these people are doing the best the can with what they have, and a lot of those are actually living productive, fulfilling lives!  So many people have looked down on PJ because of his lack of degree that he has begun to look down on himself.  He's actually pretty depressed about it lately!  But why?!  I see PJ doing 4 awesome things with his life:

1) Genesis 2:24, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.  And the man and his wife we both naked and were not ashamed." 

Ephesians 5:32-33, "This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.  Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband."

   PJ is fulfilling God's expectation of his people to have good, holy marriages that reflect the perfect relationship between Jesus and His bride - the church.  And looking at it from this perspective, PJ got a head start on a lot of people!  He couldn't wait to fulfill this purpose of God.  He started doing this good thing at the age of 20!  PJ and his wife have left their parents and have been joined together in a shameless, guiltless relationship.  Nothing is standing between the two of them.  You might say they are naked and are not ashamed!  That's a relationship so many people long for!

2)  Genesis 1:28, "God blessed them; and God said to them be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it..."

Ephesians 6:4, "Fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

       The beautiful relationship PJ has with his wife has resulted in the creation of a beautiful new person.  It seems that one of the initial purposes for marriage was for procreation.  We were meant to give God more people for His kingdom; not just in birth, but in raising them to follow God!  PJ is fulfilling this holy expectation too.  He will make mistakes; every father does.  But PJ is focused on his God granted role as a father, and is doing his best to do right by his baby girl.

3) Genesis 2:15, "Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate in and keep it."

Ephesians 4:28, "He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he may have something to share with one who has need."

1 Timothy 5:8, "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

       No where in scripture does God demand we have to have the best education money can afford in order to have a good seat in heaven.  In fact, quite the opposite is true.  Jesus give places of honor to servants/slaves.  Solomon says that gaining wisdom (or education) for the sake of gain wisdom is vanity of vanities.  PJ is blessed.  God has given him a job to allow him to support his family in everything they need, without needing a college degree!  He is working hard, and God is allowing that to show.  Is PJ rich?  Not by a long shot (at least not in this county, we can compare to the international market later).  But his wife and daughter eat every day.  They have a functional home; and plenty beyond that.

4) Genesis 1:28 (I know we've used this one already), "God blessed them; and God said to them be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Ephesians 4:11-13, "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we attain the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature that belongs to the fullness of Christ."

Matthew 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you..."

       In the garden, God wanted man to subdue the earth through procreation and child rearing.  Today, we have another caveat to how we are to subdue the earth - by making disciples for God's kingdom!  PJ worships in a community with very little true Christian influence.  The church there is in chaos.  PJ has stepped up to make a difference in that community, despite the excuses he could make about his busy life.

 Our world puts an undue burden on us, especially our young people.  Personal and spiritual life is always supposed to take second and third place in this world.  Our culture worships the almighty dollar, and part of that worship service is often the demand of a college degree!  I'm not saying a degree is a bad thing.  Often it is a valuable tool to help us the competitive climate of our cultural economy.

 My point here isn't to discourage going to college on any level.  My point is to give a little perspective on whose expectations we are living toward and demanding of others.  God demands an honest life, dedicated to Him and serving in our relationship here.  That's all.  Grow a godly family.  Provide for them.  Spread the kingdom of Christ.  Don't look down on people like PJ.  Encourage them.  Help them. And if you are someone in this position - don't be disappoint with yourself.  Serve God now, how you can, with what you have.

Matthew 6:33, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Holy As He IS Holy

“For I am the Lord your God.  Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy as a I am holy…For I am the Lord that brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy as I am holy (Leviticus 11:44,45).”  These were the words left ringing in the ears of the Israelites as Moses concludes the portion of the law dealing with clean and unclean animals.  God was extremely particular about what His people could partake of and what they should avoid.  While these laws may seem burdensome and arbitrary to Christians in the 21^st century, the fact is this is what God commanded. 

                In the late 1^st century AD, the apostle Peter wrote to disciples who were scattered throughout the world, living as aliens, as those who don’t belong in this world.  His audience was surrounded by pagans and Jews, they were encountering various trials, and it seems that holiness was becoming more difficult by the day.  So Peter offered this advice, “Therefore prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  As obedient children, do not conform to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior, because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’ (1 Peter 1:13-16)”

                Peter, like Moses before him, challenges and commands his audience to model themselves after the holiness of the Father.  God is holy; therefore, as His children and followers, we should strive to be holy as well.  To be holy means to be set apart or exalted because of goodness or righteousness.  Peter prescribes two things the Christian must do in order to pursue the holiness o God. 

First, he demands that we prepare our minds for action by 1) being sober and alert, and 2) fixing our hope on the grace of eternal redemption.   Sobriety is essential for a mind prepared for action.  If we are to be ready to make quick decisions of faith and conscience, we must be aware of our surroundings so that the devil cannot take us by surprise.  When we are tempted, we should be able to see that temptation as sin, and immediately have a godly response.  This constant state of being on guard can become tiresome, though.  Therefore Peter reminds us to keep our eyes on the prize; that is, to fix our hope completely on the hope of the resurrection.  That is our motivation.  That is what will reenergize us in times of weakness – the hope of eternity with our Lord.

                Second, the apostle demands obedience.  But this obedience is not simply checklist obedience.  What Peter demands here is total conformity to the will of the Father.  He qualifies this obedience as not being conformed to the fleshly lusts that we had while we were separate from Christ, dead in our sins.  We must leave that life behind us, nailed to the cross and buried with our Lord.  We must push on to bigger and more excellent things.  We must push on to holiness.  Like God is holy, we must be holy in all our actions and behavior; constantly striving to be more like Him every day. 

                He is the Lord that brought us up from the bondage of sin, to be our God; thus we shall be holy for He is holy. 

Do You Really Want To Be A Part Of A First Century Church?

Normally when a question like this is asked, the person asking is trying to make a point about the heart of the audience.  Like, "Do you want this, or are you just saying you do?"  Not me, not today.  I've asked it like that before.  I've questioned people's motives before.  I've asked people if they want to follow the Bible or just their desires.  We are familiar with that.  But I'm going to put a new spin on this one today.  Let me ask it this way, "Is the church we see in the first century really what we should be using as our template for the church?"

Now that you all think I'm crazy, let me add to chaos.  I think the first century church is put on an undue pedestal.  For instance, we were in worship the other day and a word was being said before taking up the collection.  The man said, "We do this because we see that the church in the first century did it, in Corinth."

So???

The church in Corinth did a lot of things.  Most of which Paul came down on them pretty hard for.  So why are we suddenly using the most liberal church in scripture as our standard?

You wanna see the church of the first century?  Liberal [and I don't just mean financially, I mean morally] (Corinth), Bigoted (Rome), Back sliding/giving up (Hebrews), adopting other creeds and traditions (Galatia), self-centered (Ephesus), proud (Laodicea), etc.  This is a pretty bleak picture.  These churches are just as bad off, or worse, than many today.

Here is my point.  The church, while established by God, is made up of human beings, fallible and weak.  We should never, ever, ever use any group of people as our authority.  Do I think the church in Corinth was right in giving money?  Absolutely.  Do I think that their doing it makes it the reason we give money?  Nope. 

Instead of saying we want to be like the first century church, or even "The churches we see in the New Testament, I believe we should be in churches that follow the New Testament, the Word of God.  Our authority comes from word of God, not people that came before us that got close.

As a side note, this should especially be our point of view when studying "Restoration History".  Campbell, Stone, Lipscomb, etc were good men, but they were not apostles, or prophets or the second coming.  They were men.  They did a lot of good.  Follow their spirit.  Be inspired by their mission.  But don't look to the 1850's like Jesus came back and set the church up right again and use them as authority.  The word of God and it alone is our authority.

He has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 13

"How long, O Lord?  Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long shall I take counsel in my soul,

Having sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;

Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,

and my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"

And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

But I have trusted in Your loving kindness;

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,

Because He has dealt bountifully with me."

        We don’t often pray like this.  David is begging God to hear him, as if God has been ignoring him for quite some time.  But haven’t we all felt like this before at some point or another?  Like Satan just won’t cut us any slack? And no matter how often we pray, or how fervently we beg God there just seems to be no end in sight?  We definitely have those bad days…or even those bad weeks.  But check out what David says here in Psalm 13.

        First – “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?”  Ok, that is a cry of desperation if I’ve ever heard one.  David seems to be in some serious trouble here but feels like God has not giving him the time of day.  But more over, look how he ends this first stanza, “How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day?  How long will my enemies be exalted over me?” Not only does David feel like God is ignoring him, he sees the enemy gaining a foot hold.  His enemy has the advantage and defeat seems like it is inevitable.

        Second – David recognizes his own weakness and lack of ability to personally fight off the enemy.  He needs God or he will die.  Plain and simple.  And if he dies like this, he says, the enemy will win and mock him and his faith.  And this just doesn’t work for David.

         Third – and here is the cool part.  What is David’s solution to God’s “silence”?  Praise Him!  That’s right.  God does seemingly nothing and He still gets the attention and respect of David.  Why is that?  It seems so foreign to us.  We ask “Why do bad things happen to good people?”  We may ask. “Why do good things happen to bad people?”  Whatever our circumstance is, it is easy to blame God for our problems and for our enemy’s success.  But David has a totally different perspective.  David says, “I will sing to the Lord, because He has bountifully with me.”  What a great thought!  Allow me to paraphrase this, “I will praise the name of God, and I will trust in His grace. Not because I see Him working right now, but because I have seen Him work in the past, and I trust Him to work it all out for good in His own time.  I am alive.  He has gotten me this far and its more than I deserve as it is.  Blessed be the Lord!”

        

         We have failed on our own again and again.  We know that it is only through God that we can even begin true change, but temptation is yet again rearing its ugly head, and we have to trust that God will deliver us in His way and in His time.  It is up to us to trust Him, and praise His name for the blessings He has already given us.

"...speaking to one another is psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs..."

 ^{Ephesians 5:}

 ¹⁵  " Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶  making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, ²⁰  giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹  submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ."

Hey ya'll, (all 8 of my followers, thanks for being there for me).  So, This is my first post in almost a year.  Between computer problems and life getting in the way, I just haven't gotten around to doing...I need to get back in the habit.

Shortly after I remembered I could now access my blog, I realized I had something weighing on my heart worth writing about.  Music.  Who doesn't like music.  It is probably the biggest growing industry in the world.  New formats, new artists, new songs, etc.  But what doesn't change is the effect music has on us.  Music is an art that touches everyone.  Not everyone digs Picasso,  Andrew Lloyd Webber, Hemingway, Frost, or Hollywood; but who doesn't listen to/ sing along to some kind of music.  Music is an art that reaches the soul.  And, frankly, I think God did that on purpose.  Singing is a natural emotional response.  We hum and whistle almost without thinking about it when we are in the right mood.  We sing lullabies to children.  And hymns at funerals.  Music is a universal thing.  Every culture has it in some form.  

So What?

I've been thinking a lot lately about the music I listen to.  On road, doing homework, working out, etc.  So much of today's contemporary music is about 3 basic topics. 1) Alcohol 2) Sex/Lust 3) A combination of 1 and 2.  And, I am ashamed to say, some of the songs I sing loud and know all the words to are like these.  It's sad.  Something that is so beautiful, and given by God to both express our deepest thoughts and to move our hearts is so wrapped up in Fornication, Idolatry, and Debauchery.

 It breaks my heart to realize that Christ-followers, myself included, have this so infused in our lives that we don't even think twice when Usher sings, "She's all up on me screamin' 'Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!".  And we sing along!!  ...I sing along.  How is that edifying my soul?  


I'll do you one better...How is that glorifying God????


I opened this blog with Ephesians 5:15-21 and here are just a few things to pull out of here:


1) Be wise as you walk through life.  Self expounding..
2) Don't waste time in the senseless things of this life, but make the most of your time doing things that eternally beneficial.  How much time do we waste on things that tear down our own spirits and destroy our effectiveness in reaching out to others?  Romans 8 is all about our lives reflecting what our minds dwell on...I'll blog about that passage soon I'm sure.  
3) Spend time in God's word understanding how to be more like Him!
4) Don't waste time in self indulgence, nor finding your inner-self in the things of this world
     RATHER....
5) Find yourself through the Spirit of the Most High God!  Let Him fill your life with all the pleasure and joy you can possibly handle!  And it is eternal, never ending, true joy.
6) Let us (not only on Sundays!!!) be filled with so much Godly emotion that we are filled with songs of praise that encourage each other in Him!! (Ah, the tie in)  Don't waste time with the music that makes sin look even more appealing than it already is!!!  Sing and make music that points to God, glorifies Him, and encourages the world.  I don't know how you feel about "Christian Rock"/ "Whatever they are calling contemporary Christian Music these days"  But I love it, maybe I'll write one day about my reasoning on that.  But this is one of the reasons.  It gives me music that I not only dont have to feel ashamed about, but it overtly praises God...and we (I) need more of that in my life.
7)  Submit to one another...We are servants of God and therefore servants of each other.  Let's not do things, listen to things, watch things, etc, that are going to discourage our brothers and sister; or even encourage sinners in their sin.  


Grace and Peace to all,
Harris

Time. Managed. Saved. Used.

Time is like money. We like to use it. We often waste it. And when we need it there is never enough.

If you actually follow my blog you will have noticed that I haven't posted in about a month. I have had severe writer's block, on top of computer problems, on top of the fact that I haven't had the time sit down, fix my computer and think about what to write....Or have I??

So yesterday I watched like 5 hours of tv. Time Management Fail. 

I have this bad habit of instead of saddling up and do when I need to do when I have a lot going on I just waste time and ignore all the things on my plate.

Ephesians 5:15-16 says, "Now walk circumspectly, not as fools but as the wise, redeeming the time, for the days are evil."  Other versions say, "Be careful how you walk". 

Wise men "redeem" or "buy back" time. Basically they don't let it go to waste, but get everything out if they can.  This doesn't mean we can't relax now and again, we just can't waste our time. We need to be productive. Sometimes it is most productive to sit and unwind. If we get so overwhelmed that we can't think or work then we are going to end up making mistakes. But, if we can do something, we need to do it. Fools waste time. Fools aren't careful how they walk. Fools don't understand that the days are evil.

They days are evil, not because they are innately of Satan, but because they are fleeting, and time has a way of working against us if we aren't redeeming it.

Prioritize.  I have been taught this my whole life. But, frankly, I'm not real good at it. I do things as they come to  me regardless on their lack of importance.

Use.  While TV isn't in and of itself evil. Watching 5 hours or more like me is a little excess. I wasn't even enjoying what was on! TV is a great way to unwind and chill out. But after yo"your show" goes off. Turn it off and get back to work. Or if you are a person who can have the TV on in the back ground and work at the time time, more power to you. I am not that person.

Manage. Along with priorities that thing that has helped me the most is keeping a list of everything i need to get done. I'm not a pro yet. But it helps.

The more you organize, manage and use time time to your advantage the more extra time you will find in your day. This is the end meaning of redeeming the time. There is always more if we invest in it. Use this extra time as your relaxation time. But even better, use it as a time to recharge spiritually. Use the extra time you have to pray and study the Bible. Use it to praise God. Express yourself in whatever means he has blessed you with. Breath....but all in good time.